Lab-Ally Proudly Announces Release of CERF 5.0

When Lab-Ally took over support of the CERF ELN product in 2014, our main concern was the immediate protection of the priceless research data for the existing CERF user community. Eventually, we were able to acquire the CERF source code and assemble an engineering team to reactivate full development of the product.

CERF 5.0 is the first major new release created entirely by Lab-Ally, and is really more of a product “reboot”, representing the culmination of close to two years of effort. The release of CERF 5.0 marks a new era of quality, superior support and customer-focussed, GLP-oriented, science-driven functionality for the CERF ELN system.

Objective number one was updating the infrastructure to allow for much more rapid and responsive product development. The source code was migrated to a modern, integrated development environment that emphasizes automated testing and quality management, and this new environment has helped us to completely overhaul the product itself. CERF 5.0 has been totally refactored and updated for use with modern hardware, operating systems and data security protocols. Numerous components and libraries have been updated, navigation has been improved, and the user interface has been reworked — all without sacrificing the core features that set CERF ELN apart.

CERF 5.0 focuses on shoring up the product’s most powerful features: semantic metadata and semantic search, round trip editing, flexible import and export of data and the use of notes, tags and configurable ontologies to add meaning to your files. Several new search parameters were added and the default search parameter list was redesigned to make it easier to use. Collaboration functions have been closely reviewed to help our customers do better, faster, more efficient science. The end result is more confidence in the searchability, authenticity and long-term integrity of your data and intellectual property for many years to come.

Even better, this release is accompanied by simultaneous issuances of a brand new iPad client called iCERF, as well as the all-new CERF Exporter, a new version of the CERF Automaton (for capturing data files at the source), new client installers for both Mac and Windows, updated documentation and free live webcast training for any customer that wants it. Additional details are available here.

How to upgrade to the new release:

If you already have a CERF support contract with Lab-Ally then you are all set. This update is fully included with your support contract. Simply contact support@lab-ally.com to schedule the upgrade for your existing CERF server. If your server is installed on legacy hardware, be sure to talk to our technicians about options for assistance with a free migration to a new, fast server.

If you don’t yet have a support contract with Lab-Ally then there has never been a better time to get one, as this update is recommended for all users and is only available to CERF ELN customers with a current support contract. You’ll find that Lab-Ally’s support fees are a fraction of our competitors and predecessors; request a quote at info@lab-ally.com to see just how much cost we can save you.

If you have not yet experienced CERF and are interested in a NEW install, please contact info@lab-ally.com for a demonstration of the capabilities that your laboratory requires.

We would very much like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal CERF users for your many useful suggestions over the years, and for your unfaltering support for the product during this time of transition. We are excited about the great things we have planned for CERF ELN in 2017 and beyond, and as always, we look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas about what we can do to help your organization or lab to do better science.